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Document Details :

Title: The First Sentence of Line 28 of the Tuńuquq Inscription
Author(s): LI, Yong-Sŏng
Journal: Journal Asiatique
Volume: 310    Issue: 1   Date: 2022   
Pages: 125-133
DOI: 10.2143/JA.310.1.3290954

Abstract :
The first sentence of line 28 (= line 4 on the north side of the first stele) of the Tuńuquq Inscription has been read differently. Most researchers saw missing letters at the beginning of this line. The last letter of the first word has usually been considered N. The second word has been accepted by all researchers as the instrumental case of süŋüg ‘lance, spear’. The third and last word was accepted by all researchers as the past tense form for the first-person plural of the verb ač- ‘to open’. However, this sentence is still not understood satisfactorily. The author believes that this sentence can be read in two ways, the first one being more grammatically appropriate:
(1) [qarγ]u süŋ(ü)g(ü)n: ač[d](ï)m(ï)z: 'We opened the watchtower(s) (of the Kyrgyz) with the lances/spears (and took it/them).'
(2) [ord]o süŋ(ü)g(ü)n: ač[d](ï)m(ï)z: 'We opened the royal camp (of the Kyrgyz) with the lances/spears.'

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